"It’s Maddening": Ex-Dem Strategist Condemns Party After Day 1 of DNC Meeting

"We have absolutely no agenda.”

This article originally appeared on the Daily Caller News Foundation and was republished with permission.

Guest post by Jason Cohen

Former Democratic strategist Dan Turrentine condemned his party on Monday following the first day of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) summer meeting.

One of the first items on the DNC meeting agenda was a “land acknowledgement,” based on the premise that the Minnesota land they were on was improperly taken from indigenous people. Turrentine said on “The Ingraham Angle” that the Democratic Party was repeating its past mistakes that led it to its current diminished state.

WATCH:

“Laura, you said it: it’s the definition of insanity: you just keep doing the same thing over and over again. And as a Democrat, it’s maddening that we’re still not serious,” Turrentine told host Laura Ingraham. “You said it: we haven’t lost 4.5 million voters, nor is our brand at a historic low, because we don’t fight hard enough. It’s because we remain completely culturally disconnected and we have absolutely no agenda.”

“You said earlier in your monologue: [President Donald] Trump’s trying to solve problems,” he continued. “We always offer the three P’s: the personal attacks, which you just heard: ‘He’s a dictator and authoritative.’ We argue process: ‘Oh, he shouldn’t do this, he’s violating customs and norms.’ Or it’s the press: ‘It’s their job to do it.’ And then on the cultural issues — we literally have think tanks putting memos out that ‘these are the words you’re not supposed to say.’ You add it all up and we are not in good shape.”

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Democrats, including DNC Chairman Ken Martin and former Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, raged against Trump’s alleged authoritarianism during remarks at the meeting.

“Democrats, make no mistake, a storm is coming. In fact, it’s already here,” Martin said. “Rising inequality, attacks on democracy, voter suppression and a fascist regime that doesn’t play by the rules.”

“Think of how easy it would be to be a damn Republican. Oh, what should I wear today? This stupid, frickin’ red hat. What should I say today? I don’t know, just make sure it’s cruel,” Walz said. “Who do we listen to? [President Donald Trump]. Oh, the felon in the White House? Yeah, listen to him and that will be fine. Now he’s talking about burning flags, he’s gonna have flag burning or whatever. Because he knows there’s a hell of a lot of flag with his picture on it that are gonna get burned.”

Liberal think tank Third Way called on Democrats to avoid using woke jargon that it cautioned could alienate voters in a memo on Thursday. It outlined 45 words and phrases they believe Democrats should refrain from using because “no ordinary person would ever dream of” saying them, arguing some of the language makes Democrats sound like “extreme, divisive, elitist, and obfuscatory enforcers of wokeness.”

Democrats’ favorability plunged to a record low of 29%, according to a March CNN poll, while a July Quinnipiac poll showed only 19% approved of the party’s Congressional leadership, also marking an all-time low.

The party has also faced infighting, challenges reaching fundraising goals and steep declines in voter registration.

Copyright 2025 Daily Caller News Foundation

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